


Better Left Unsaid

by lasairfhiona



Series: matchmaker, or not [1]
Category: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-06
Updated: 2011-10-06
Packaged: 2017-10-24 09:07:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/261578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasairfhiona/pseuds/lasairfhiona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some things are better left unsaid</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Left Unsaid

There are some things better left unsaid. Chip knew that. He'd always known that. It was why he never said anything when he fell hard for an older man while he was a midshipman at Annapolis. It was why he never revealed his feelings to that same man when he left active duty and went to work for him and why he never planned on saying anything now or in the future to the man he had feelings for -- Admiral Harriman Nelson.

Instead, Chip became indispensable to the Admiral during those final days of Seaview's construction and sea trials. It wasn't because he wanted to be noticed more, because he didn't. Being noticed meant he might let his guard slip and his feelings be known. Nor was it because he wanted to use his good work as an excuse to get closer to the Admiral and garnish favours. That wasn't his style. It was more because of *who* he was. Hard work wasn't foreign to him, nor was it in him to do less than his best. He earned his position as Executive officer because of his hard work and because he made the Admiral's job easier.

He earned his reputation for being the unflappable Exec long before Lee Crane came to Seaview and their missions became more out of the ordinary. He earned it during Seaview's sea trials when there always seemed to be something that needed tweaking to get it running the way the Admiral designed the boat to run.

Lee Crane's presence on the submarine changed everything. The crew changed. The Admiral changed. He even changed. His old friend brought them together. Made them a more of a family than they ever had been before. Lee also brought him and the Admiral together again -- Seaview's completion and passing sea trials ended the time he used to spend with the Admiral going over the grey lady's plans and specifications. With the three of them now spending off duty time together, once again Chip decided things were better left unsaid as feelings he's buried for so long under hard work came back to the surface as the new found friendship between the three of them bloomed.

Chip had to wonder, though. Did Lee suspect his feelings for the Admiral? Back at Annapolis, Lee had guessed how he'd felt about the red-headed man. Did Lee see through his facade and guess that those feelings were still there? Was that why his old friend insisted the three of them spend time together? Or did Lee know something else? Was he trying to nudge them in a direction?

He'd decided a long time ago that even if he found out the Admiral felt the same about, he wouldn't persue it. How did he tell his boss he was in love with him? There was too much at stake for him to make the first move. He loved Seaview. He loved his job. He would never do anything to jeopardize that. There were just some things that were better left unsaid and his feelings for Harriman Nelson topped that list.


End file.
